Bangladesh’s top judicial court has rejected the appeal of the Jammat-e-Islami leader Abdul Quader Mollah, known as the butcher of Mirpur and increased the sentence on him to the death penalty. The earlier lighter sentence against him had brought a huge crowd to gather in the Shahbagh Square of Dhaka. Protesters had also thronged the streets. Recent verdicts against other Jammat leaders like Ghulam Azam and Delwar Hossain Sayeedi and the electoral ban on the Jammat show Bangladesh’s mission to establish a secular image. Sheikh Hassina’s government has given priority to it. One wonders why India is taking a passive attitude when Bangla is in transition. It is a trying period for India-Bangladesh relations. Dhaka wants a constitutional amendment for the land border agreement and the sharing of the Teesta waters. Unless India takes a positive attitude, Hasina will not succeed in changing her government’s policy and promoting a security and economic partnership with India. India must reach out a friendly hand to the secular forces in Bangladesh before its general elections.
India is vocal about the rise of fundamentalism in Pakistan but not about it in Bangladesh. This country had played a big role in bringing about the birth of the new nation. Dhaka has done its bit to demolish the terrorist and insurgent forces from northeastern India sheltering in that country. The BJP and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee cannot be held solely responsible for the souring of relations between the two neighbours. The ruling UPA government should be proactive in strengthening the bond between India and its eastern neighbour